This bill will help provide individual creators – such as photographers, illustrators, writers, and musicians – the ability to bring cases without the expense and complexity of Federal Court.

Push it out on social media using hashtags:

#HR3945
#UniteforCopyright

The Copyright Alliance Small Claims Working Group has declared January 17th, #SmallClaimsDay

Sample Tweets:

#Creators experience #copyright infringement every day. If you are one of these creators or a friend of the creative community, #UniteForCopyright on January 17 #SmallClaimsDay, and ask your representative to cosponsor #HR3945 http://copyrightalliance.org/get-involved/add-your-voice/

Support the #creative community by asking your representative to cosponsor #HR3945 on January 17, #SmallClaimsDay! Write or call them to ask for their support! http://copyrightdefense.com/action

Call to Action: Tell Congress to vote “Yes” on H.R. 1695

April 3, 2017

Creators, Please act now. Tell Congress to Vote “Yes” on H.R. 1695

Last week, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) and Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) introduced the H.R. 1695, The Register of Copyrights Selection and Accountability Act

The bill passed out of the Judiciary Committee in a nearly unanimous 27 to 1 vote!
It will now go to the full House of Represenatives for a vote.

The bill would elevate the Register of Copyrights (previously held by Maria Pallante) to a position appointed by the President with the Advice and Consent of the Senate. We believe this will provide a more transparent and accountable selection process. The Copyright Office has been operating without a permanent Register since last October. It is urgent that this issue is addressed so efforts to modernize the Copyright Office can move forward.

It is vital that Congress hears from creators about the importance of this issue. APA and organizations representing creators from across the spectrum of the creative community have already voiced their support.

Tips for Protecting Your Work

While social media sites provide a vast network of marketing opportunities with little or no outlay of cash from users, as you'll see from our Social Media White Paper they are not without costs of a different kind. Consequently, APA recommends that if you choose to post images to social media sites, you do so with full awareness of the potential consequences:

Terms of Service (ToS) and User Agreements are binding legal documents that apply to you whether you read and fully understand them, or not.

Most of these documents dictate ways in which the services can use, share, even sell your images without any further permission from you.

Images you post may escape your control and may not ever be completely removable from the internet, even in cases where you may be legally liable.

Even if your images never leave the site, you may forfeit future licensing opportunities because clients may want exclusivity that you cannot guarantee.

You may be liable for others' use, or misuse, of your own images that you post.

If you choose to post images to social media sites:

Consider limiting your postings to a small, finite group of images you're willing to devote to a marketing or business plan.

Consider watermarking your images to limit their commercial viability and to prevent your images from becoming separated, or "orphaned" from you, their creator.

Consider linking to your images from your blog or website, rather than posting new files.

Check your insurance policy to be sure you're covered for the potential liabilities you assume when posting to social media.

Know your rights. Take a few minutes to read the ToS for wherever you choose to post your work, then decide. And if you don't understand or you're unsure, don't rely on readings on the internet. Consult your own attorney for legal advice.

APA’s California Sales Tax Guide

This document is an explanation of the basic application of sales tax for photographers in California. It covers many situations, but not all. There are additional nuances and gray areas that have been left out in an effort to get the main points across as simply as possible. We advise you to write to the BOE to get specific advice in situations that are not covered here.